“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you some kind of anti-American or something? You hate soldiers? You think we’re monsters?” Ricky asked, raising his voice. Murphy was glad his brother responded. His retort would have been a hell of a lot worse than that.
Amelia turned around to face the other way.
“I don’t date soldiers. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t date anyone who engages in fighting of any sort.”
“Oh, honey, you’re going to have to explain better than that. I kissed you. I felt you kiss me back. I bet if I inspected, your panties were even wet.”
She turned around and shot him a dirty look.
“I’m on to you. I get it. I do. You want to control me, manipulate my mind, and make me think I’m special, and then you want to pounce. I know the MO, big-time, Ricky. Let’s avoid the drama, the pain, and the bullshit and call it for what it is. I won’t be you or your brother’s latest fuck. Leave now.”
* * * *
Amelia knew her words were harsh. She was in a panic. She liked them both. She wanted them both, but she wouldn’t allow history to repeat itself. The point of making mistakes in the past was to avoid future ones. She’d been down this road. Even though it was with one man and not more than one, she knew the outcome.
“What’s going on in here?”
She was shocked to see Brody, standing there with a towel, wiping his hands. She had forgotten that Murphy called him over to check out her car. Another kind act, to get her to open up her thighs. As badly as she wanted to, she knew she couldn’t.
“Nothing. Your brothers were just leaving. Thanks for the help,” she said then started to reach for the box. She lifted it up. It was too heavy and when Murphy went to reach for it to help her, she pulled away, lost her balance, and knocked the box over. When the lid popped open, pictures of her brother, Kyle, in uniform and the special box with a perfectly folded American flag from his funeral emerged. She knew that other pictures were in there. So were her father’s and her brother Edward’s flags as well that were given to her at their funerals when they died.
She looked at Murphy as he bent down next to her.
“Amelia?” he questioned.
She shook her head as she quickly pushed the items back inside and tried unsuccessfully to add the lid.
“Leave. Just leave.” She stood up, leaving the box, with the lid slightly loose sitting there.
She glanced at Ricky and Brody, who now moved closer. She was shaking. She didn’t want them to see those pictures and to know about her heartache. They wouldn’t get it. These were her memories, her loss.
Very slowly, Murphy wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her up against him. She grabbed onto his forearms to try and stop him, but he was rock solid and pretty damn determined.
“Amelia, look at me.”
She did instantly. His tone and his size were intimidating and initiated a natural instinctual response in her.
She locked gazes with him. She felt his other hand move up her waist then to her neck and head. He held her firmly.
“You really know how to piss a man off.”
He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth. His tongue pushed between her teeth and a moment later she was kissing him back, allowing him complete access to her mouth and her body.
She felt his hands explore her ass and lower back as he devoured her moans and stroked the cavern of her mouth.
She never felt so aroused and needy. Hadn’t she just said she didn’t want them or a relationship with them?
When he lifted her up into the air and began carrying her somewhere, she panicked, pulling her mouth from his, as Murphy placed her ass on the kitchen island.
“Murphy?”
His mouth was back on hers again, stopping her from denying the attraction any further. When he finally got his fill of kissing her, he used his mouth to suckle along her neck, filling her body with goose bumps. He used one large hand to push the strap of her camisole and bra to the side and release a full breast to his mouth.
“Fucking beautiful,” he whispered then suckled the nipple, caus
ing her pussy to come alive.
“Oh God, Murphy, please. You have to stop.”